Madison — You don't have to be a football savant to realize Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave missed badly on several throws against Illinois.

The redshirt sophomore threw low to tight end Jacob Pedersen on first and goal from the Illini 8; underthrew Jared Abbrederis on what should have been a 75-yard touchdown; threw the ball at Abbrederis' feet on first down from the Illinois 44; threw high and wide of Pedersen, while sliding away from pressure, two plays later; and threw low to Abbrederis on a quick out in the final quarter.

"There are those glaring throws," UW coach Gary Andersen said Monday, adding Stave's overall play against the Illini was solid. "And trust me, the first guy that wants those back is Joel."

"They've talked about some different things, some possible adjustments that help him as the game goes on to keep him in the moment," Andersen said.

Despite those glaring misses, Stave completed 16 of 21 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns in UW's 56-32 victory and Andersen insisted Stave is a better player today than he was in Week 1 against UMass.

"I think Joel has progressed every week," he said. "He carries himself well. He seems to adjust with what defenses are doing."

Andersen noted that Illinois changed its defensive game plan after UW jumped to an early 21-3 lead.

"We saw some base defense early and when the base defense didn't work out well it became a blitz fest," Andersen said. "He adjusts to those moments and those situations and continues to impress down those lines."

UW (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) enters its second bye week fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 39.9 points per game.

Among quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts, Stave is second in the Big Ten in completion rate (63.5%) and third in the league and 24th nationally in passing efficiency with a 150.96 rating.

He is tied for the No. 2 mark in the league in touchdown passes (13) and in the red zone has completed 23 of 32 attempts (71.9%) for 137 yards, with nine touchdowns and no interceptions.

"And when it doesn't work out for him he stays status quo," Andersen said, "which is a good trait. He doesn't go to up and down.

"He is progressing. I believe coach Ludwig would tell you the same thing. I'm proud of him. We've got to keep moving in the right direction."

Borland should be ready: Linebacker Chris Borland, who missed the last three quarters against the Illini after suffering a strained right hamstring, said after the victory he would be ready to face Iowa on Nov. 2.

Andersen echoed that sentiment Monday.

"Chris should be fine," he said. "I texted him last night. ... He said: 'Coach, I'll be ready for Iowa.'"

While UW is off this week, Iowa (4-3, 1-2) hosts Northwestern at 11 a.m. Saturday.

"This bye comes at a good time," Andersen said. "Chris is hurt. ... the next opponent we're playing, we need Chris.

"This is two heavyweights swinging at each for four quarters. We picture ourselves as a team that likes to get into those physical games and you don't have to watch but 10 snaps on Iowa. ... they like it, too. They like it a lot."

Missing from BCS: Not surprisingly, UW was missing from the initial Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday.

Barring a collapse by first-place Ohio State, UW's only hope to play in a BCS game is to finish in the top 14 of the standings and secure an at-large berth.

That is a long shot, and Andersen said Monday he hadn't paid attention.

"I'm only going to worry about the things I can worry about," he said, "and try to get the kids ready to go play every single week.